


On the Ice

by AngstSpaghetti



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Anyways, F/M, Fluff, Link ( Legend of Zelda ) is too smug for Hyrule, Link (Legend of Zelda) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Link (Legend of Zelda) is a Dork, Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda) Fluff, Panic Attacks, Strictly Fluff, Talking Link (Legend of Zelda), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, gosh this is super fluffy, im tagging it anyways, its like a lemon cupcake, sorta angst, sorta panic attack but not really, the fluff evens it out, this is NOT a lemon, wait dont take that the wrong way, yeah its kinda sour but it way sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29261595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstSpaghetti/pseuds/AngstSpaghetti
Summary: Zelda and Link take a trip out to Tabantha Tundra.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	On the Ice

As much as it was snowing, you wouldn't think the rito apparel would keep one warm through the extreme cold, but sure enough, it did. “For her own safety” Link had kept himself within an arm’s reach away to make sure a snowstorm didn’t kick up and take her away. Neither had any problem doing so.

For quite some time, they were following the beeping of the sheikah sensor, trying to find a shrine hidden in the snow. “We’re not getting anywhere.” The girl sighed, a slight whine in her voice. The Tabantha Tundra was quite large, and Link wouldn’t doubt it if they were walking in circles. 

However, the princess noticed a hill and odd stone doors in the distance. “Link, do you might if we check those doors?” With a nod, she ran over to the destination, to which the sheikah sensor was happily beeping. He followed not too far behind.

Link was more attentive to the surrounding area. He noticed the strange grooves in the hillside, and then the large stone doors at the bottom of it. Zelda was already looking at the runes engraved into the light grey rock, looking for anything which would stand out. “The shrine is most likely in there. The issue is just getting inside.” She held the sheikah slate close to her face, looking at the sensor.

Link walked over to her side, cutely laying his head on Zelda's shorter shoulder to see the screen. She giggled and covered her mouth at the gesture. "The doors look like they're made out of heavy stone, so I doubt any of the runes on here will help."

For the next 10 minutes, the princess tried to convince Link that, no, hitting it with a heavy weapon was not going to work. Nor shield surfing into it. Link stop running into it for Hylia's sake; it's a stone wall.

"Link, I have no doubt in my mind that you are inexplicably strong, but I do believe these doors are out of your range, or anyone's for that matter."

Link had a sour face in response to having his strength questioned. He held back the temptation to wittingly say, 'Well, excuse me, Princess.' The knight was strong, which was something Zelda admired in the back of her mind, but with that strength, he carried a bit of arrogance. Thus he kept hitting the doors with all his might, despite her concerns.

Zelda eyed a few snowballs around her. She picked it up, packed it tight with her gloves, and had surprisingly good aim when the snowball hit the back of his ponytail.

His eyes were filled with a kind of shock she had never seen on his face before. "Did you-"

Another snowball, to the face this time. "Link, stop or I'll throw even more." Her voice was quite serious but was smiling ridiculously. 

Laughter erupted from the knight, smiling as he realized how much he loved the silly side of Zelda. Though he didn't explain himself, so it was taken as a taunt.

Soon, it turned into a mini snowball fight. Zelda had a better aim. Link's face was extremely cold from the number of snowballs that were being landed on his face. After 5 minutes or so, Link was able to land one on Zelda's arm, but it was the last snowball around them.

At the same time, they both noticed a pile of snowballs at the top of the grooved hill. 

"Race you."

"You underestimate my speed, Link."

She was right; Zelda ran quite fast, even in the snow, but it begged the question of when she learned how. Her strategy was quite smart though; instead of running directly up the slope snow-covered hill, she moved from ledge to ledge. Her fluffy clothes swayed in the cold wind when she made it to the top, beating Link. She giggled, once again covering her mouth.

The knight finally made it up to the top of the hill and was smiling as he did so. "How." He laughed.

Stopping to catch their breath, the pair waited for a moment before grabbing another snowball. 

Instead of landing one right in the face, the out of breath Princess missed, which earned a smug look from Link. 

He missed as well, from both having poor aim and being out of energy. However, it landed into one of the grooves down the hill and began to tumble down, growing bigger by the second. 

By chance, the snowball about as large as the Zora King struck the stone doors Link was so sure he could open earlier.

And it fell.

Silence fell between the two. Out of all the things to open it, a snowball. Hm.

"Told you I could open it."

A snowball to the face. His face smiled though, "You're incredible."

As much as she wanted to protest and ask if that was a taunt from him, she knew deeply how genuine those words were. Zelda giggled a bit, hand behind her back as to not cover her expression. If Link could express himself so freely, she decided she should be able to do the same. 

The orange glow of a shrine caught her eyes though, so she would express herself some other time. "There was a shrine behind there!" Her eyes widened.

Link exclaimed as he shield-surfed down the slope, taking the risk of surfing on a badly damaged shield. The princess followed him, calmly walking down the hill, and inspecting the inside of the cave. 

The shrine's location was saved to the map on the slate, now registered as a fast travel point. She would've loved to stay longer and examine the ancient structure, but the wind was picking up as well as the amount of snow.

They agreed on revisiting the shrine at a later time. For now, just trying to get through the heavy snow and not lose each other was a priority.

Zelda’s mind was calm; satisfied with finding the ancient building of technology. And maybe getting to throw snowballs at Link. 

When things were a bit too calm, it reminded Link when he finally met her again after 100 years; with Ganon defeated, he finally could put a face once more to the angelic voice. 

Since he woke up, Link didn’t get to fully experience the relaxation of taking a break; it was always one task after another. The consistency brought him a strange sense of comfort.

In the moments after dealing the final blow to Dark Beast Ganon, he had remembered her to the best extent he could; but he was scared of losing her. What if now was just another memory, and he was lost in his thoughts somewhere else in Hyrule?

He pressed his lips and narrowed his eyes, becoming stressed from the mere thought of it.

This had happened often: Link sometimes would run to her side in the middle of the night--making sure she was still here. Making sure this wasn't a memory. Zelda knew the protocol.

"Name some things you can feel." She calmly spoke, looking at his narrowed, impatient blue eyes.

"...Snow." His usual rough voice was shaky. "Snowflakes. Wind. Cloth." His jaw clenched involuntarily but was corrected the moment he took notice.  
"Breathe in." She reached out her hand a little, maybe to grab onto his, and stroked her thumb over the top of his hand, reassuring him that he was here. In the present. 

"Breathe out." He answered. 

The twinkle of snowflakes in the wind filled the silence between the two; awkward silence never seemed to exist for Zelda and Link. The presence of each other was enough.

"...Are you alright now?" She moved her hand back to the inside of her long sleeves.

"Yeah. Thank you."  
Zelda smiled towards him, usually saying her “welcomes” in that manner.

The ground beneath them was ice. She didn't notice, so you can guess what happened next.

"I'll always be--Woah!" Zelda, quite ungracefully fell on the slippery terrain, a laugh of embarrassment coming from her as she sat upright.

"Are you okay?" Link, somehow, walked on the ice as if it were grass. Zelda grabbed ahold of his offered hand to help her up. 

"I'm alright, thank you." She stood on the ice with poor balance; she spread out her arms like a baby bird in hopes she wouldn't hit the ground again. "I didn't notice the ice beneath me." She started to slip again to which Link quickly supported her with an arm around the waist. The girl squeaked a bit. 

“Sorry,” Link responded to her high-pitched reaction, pulling his arms away, “I just didn’t want you to fall again.” 

“Don’t apologize, you just caught me by surprise.” She smiled sheepishly, embarrassed at her child-like reaction. “I appreciate your support, thank you.” Zelda narrowed her eyes to her feet and then the ice, trying to slide across the large sheet of ice.

The knight watched her attempt at getting across by herself, but it wasn’t till she had slipped again that he stepped in and asked if she needed help. She signaled she wasn’t hurt before he could even ask. 

The wind and snowfall together were mere moments away from turning into a blizzard. If they weren’t close by, they would lose sight of each other in the thick of the snowstorm. 

“Hold my hand? I d-” Words were caught in his throat, embarrassed from his request. “I don’t want you to get lost.” It didn’t help either when it took the golden-haired girl a moment to respond. 

The confirmation of warm hands grasped firmly onto his outstretched hand. The knight pulled her up with a shocking amount of gentleness and tried his best to help her balance on the ice until they got to snowier land. 

The blizzard was starting to pick up, and Snowfield Stable was just insight.

“...Zelda? Do you remember what you were going to say before you fell back there?” Link asked, his voice coming back to his regular rough tone.

She promptly turned around and said calmly, “I was about to say that I’m always going to be here with you,” she turned her face back to the stable which got closer by the minute. “In the present.”

“Oh.” 

He held her hand closer.

**Author's Note:**

> Look this was supposed to go into Scars, my zelink fanfic, but I couldn't find a place to fit it in and I didn't want to waste it sooo. Yeah. I also made art for this: https://abbys-art-alley.tumblr.com/post/642021460530151424/angst-dealer-have-some-zelink-that-isnt-gonna
> 
> \--   
> if I forgot something it's because I stayed up till 6 am re-writing this. I apologize lol I'm going to sleep


End file.
